The Tekla BIM Awards Finland and Baltics 2022 competition and public voting was won by the Tampere Deck and Arena project, which is part of the transformation of the Tampere station area. The project, which is exceptionally demanding even by international standards, was a unique experience oasis built on top of a railway line in the middle of the city.
The jury evaluated the project from the perspectives of data model use, data model-based collaboration, on-site solutions, innovation and sustainability. The jury justified its choice by highlighting the versatility of the project and its challenging location. Information modelling was used innovatively and extensively throughout the project, with all design disciplines modelling and extensive use of information models in stakeholder engagement.
The site focused on safety at work by using data models to simulate, monitor progress and coordinate contractors' contributions, also taking into account the train traffic underneath. The InfraBIM source data model included all available source data for the site, and data model-based simulations were used for traffic management. A condensation heat recovery system and solar collectors were also designed into the project.
The most important solution in terms of sustainability was not to build a car park and to favour public transport. The sculptural shape of the site is also architecturally significant and fits in well with its location in the urban fabric. The feedback from the public vote cited the project as a good example of how the use of Tekla Structures software made a decisive contribution to the feasibility of a geometrically challenging site.
Data models were used in a variety of ways, both for planning and coordination
Data models were used extensively from the very beginning of the project.
- First, a baseline data model was created in accordance with the general infrastructure model requirements, which was quite comprehensive and included underground modelling of pipelines and helicopter images of the railway and the project area, says Heikki Arvio, Group Manager of BIM Business Development at Ramboll Finland Oy. "Practically all the surrounding buildings and also the railway infrastructure were modelled. The baseline data model was used from the very beginning of the project, guiding and framing the project area.
How did construction work from the main contractor's point of view when all the design disciplines were modelling?
- The data model was used to implement everything, and the modelling was used in a very versatile way in production control," says Jenni Ala-Mantila, Project Manager of the Tampere Deck and Infra project at SRV Rakennus Oy. "Especially in the early stages, the installation monitoring of the frame phase was used, where we were involved from the element factory onwards, so that we knew when the elements were ready and could be installed on site. This provided real-time monitoring and enabled us to report on the implementation to the clients. A condition was imposed on the component and other suppliers that the complex had to be modelled, otherwise it would not be completed at the same time. It is a nuisance to have to go back and adjust the parts afterwards when the structures are ready.
- Model-based design was a vital requirement for the project, also because of the scale, emphasises architect
Lauri Mäkinen
"If you had started to draw this type of building on paper, it would still be drawn, and each piece of paper would be quite a pile. "I must mention in particular that the data model was used in the dimensioning of the HVAC and IV systems," Ala-Mantila continues.The shape of the arena is so unusual that the data model was the easiest way to get the mass out. The modelling therefore also facilitated the sizing of the HVAC equipment required for the facilities.
Tekla Structures model of the Arena deck.
The data models were used in discussions with site users
- The data models were also used extensively in discussions with the Arena operators and other future users," continues Arvio. "I think they were presented to almost every stakeholder on the site.
- Users had access to at least a certain level of the model to inspect the details if they wanted to, confirms Mäkinen. "Although the drawings were created from the model, they did not provide as clear a view as in the 3D matching phase to check how the space looks and whether it meets the purpose agreed with the interior designer, for example, i.e. whether the model enables the user's desired purpose.
- "For example, we discussed with the teams and looked at the model to see what kind of facilities they had reserved for them," says Ala-Mantila. "The data model was an excellent and visualising tool compared to explaining things in 2D and helped the parties to clearly understand what changes they wanted to make to the facilities.
A snapshot of a local match.
- This was a big and important highlight for us, so especially in Tampere, customer events always included a virtual demonstration," says Arvio.The first step was to translate the architect's model of the Arena directly into a VR model, which was reviewed with customers and people from Ramboll. We did a virtual deck walk with VR glasses on, with the urban structure brought in around the site, so that the site could also be viewed from a bird's eye view on the spot.
- Similarly, during the presentations of the Topaasi and Opaali tower houses, customers were given virtual glasses so that they could walk around and look at their own apartment with a view of the outside, Ala-Mantila says. "With the virtual glasses, you could see what the landscape really looks like from the window on the 14th floor. The computer modelling helped and clarified communication even at this stage of the project.
The information from the data model was used in a very wide range of ways on site
- When making procurements, the necessary quantity data were taken from the data model, which also facilitated the process in preparing schedules, says Ala-Mantila. "It was essential that the quantity data were correct in the model and could be trusted.
- There must have been dozens of different procurement packages, and if you look back to a project 10 years ago, we had perhaps 95% of all the objects that needed to be ordered, purchased or colour specified in the model," Mäkinen says.The contractor can specify quantities, hand sizes and similar information directly from the model, and the model was certainly used for that.
- The component suppliers were able to work in a much more model-based way, because the models were created as agreed from the start and the data content was in order," Arvio continues. "The use of models from component and other suppliers was therefore also very extensive in this project.
- The data models were available and used by everyone, including contractors, and they were also used in schedule communication, Ala-Mantila says.Especially in the busiest phase, the model could be linked to Mesta maps and other data, which meant that the schedule information was available to the contractors all the time and helped them plan their own work. As a result, the site was delivered on schedule and everything was ready for the first events immediately after delivery.
- The schedule was quite tight, because you don't just move the Ice Hockey World Cup, and coordinating is much more fun with a mouse and keyboard than on a crane platform, Arvio points out.In junior sports, everything plays, and in a construction project everyone models!
- The data model played a decisive role in the sizing of the media cube hanging from the ceiling of the arena's bowl, for example," says Ala-Mantila. "There are many other techniques and suspension solutions in the ceiling structures, and the cube had to fit in the right place and still pivot so that it could be lifted up between the structures. On paper, there was no way we could have solved this. Various solutions were modelled to fit in with the rest of the technology.
Roof media cube at various stages of design and construction.
- The space is permeated by a jungle of technology, and fitting between the ceiling grids would have been difficult without looking at the available space from the model, Mäkinen adds. "When everyone from the AV designer onwards models what will be installed in the space, solutions are much easier to implement. When you open a combination model, you can see all the elements, whether there are 20 or a million of them. If even one actor had failed to model, the workflow would have been immediately disrupted.
The data model was a great help in communicating remotely and in a busy schedule
- In the few months before the project was completed, there were many times when people would say, "Let's look at this through the model first," Mäkinen says.The master has a pedal in his hand with a 3D model, and the drawing says something, but when things are combined or a problem arises, most of the time the point to be solved was looked at the model and compared to the drawing. So much was happening at the same time in the project that if you always had to produce or dig out the drawing, it would have put the brakes on the project. The fact that the model was available to virtually everyone on the site helped considerably almost to the final stages.
- In the last few months, we were working hard to get everything done as agreed, but luckily everyone had a model "in their pocket", and the screenshots got the message across more clearly and quickly than if we had had to verbalise the situation," Ala-Mantila says.
- A screenshot of the model and drawing three lines on it with your finger explains it better than a ten-minute explanation on the phone, Mäkinen says.Rail transport is like a living organism that involves precise scheduling and coordination. If there had been a problem at a hub, it would have accumulated all the way to Rovaniemi, and in that sense it was really important that everyone played the same game and was aware of each other's activities.
- Yes, and the safety requirements for building on the track are also quite different compared to building on an empty lot, adds Arvio.- Some of the breaks were planned for up to two years ahead.
- Building on top of a railway is fun when you have the right tools, says Ala-Mantila. "The deck was built on top of the main line, where both freight and passenger traffic pass. When designing the deck, modelling allowed us to simulate rail traffic, which was kept running throughout the construction. At no point did the rail traffic have to be stopped for construction, because the implementation and scheduling could be adapted to the traffic, and modelling played an important role in this.
- The Finnish Fairways Agency imposed even stricter than usual conditions for safe construction, Ala-Mantila continues. "We were particularly careful not to let anyone go to the wrong place and not to take any safety risks. The planning and scheduling of the work was very important. Of course, some rail traffic was diverted through the crossing tunnel so that we could build on top of the tunnel. The Public Roads Administration has to be informed a couple of years in advance when certain work, such as the installation of pillars and beams, is going to be carried out, and it was important to plan early enough to allow both parties to carry out the work and to inform the Public Roads Administration. Ongoing communication went smoothly with the help of the template. The importance of communication only increased during the interest rate pandemic, when there was no common table, and the information models were therefore of even greater value than usual. A challenging hybrid project at a challenging time would not have succeeded without data models.
Innovative solutions and sustainable urban development
- "My favourite process in the project was the progress of the façade design," says Mäkinen, "We were able to keep the project on schedule and other pressures so that the warm exterior wall was built at the same pace as the glass wall, steel frame and double façade, or 'skin'. It is the façade that is visible from the building towards the city, creating a landmark for Tampere unlike any other. Translating the skin from Liebeskind's free-form slat design to a situation where each slat had its own identification, position in the element and angle in relation to, for example, a bracket, would have been quite difficult using a paper image. In terms of surface area, there were hundreds of thousands of pieces, and placing them individually without the help of AI would have been a critical problem in achieving the final look of the section.
- The same technologies, i.e. algorithmic design, were used for the deck," says Arvio. "Especially at the beginning of the project, there were a lot of changes and the deck needed to be updated quickly. The fact that we had a deck modelling process created using algorithms helped us to introduce changes to the design much faster than would have been possible by manual editing. These were used to generate volume and design data for the deck and other structures. The deck reinforcement process went smoothly with the help of the data models. The information was in the model, and all parties were in the same model: designer, contractor and reinforcement manufacturer. The snapshot was updated in the model for everyone and was crystal clear for all parties involved, and everyone knew where they stood. It was communication through a data model at its best.
- From a sustainability perspective, it was essential to build where the people are and where public transport is already available, so that people can get to and from the site using environmentally friendly alternatives," Arvio continues.
- Rail transport is like a second river in the urban fabric of Tampere," says Mäkinen. "From an urban and human perspective, the Arena project was the starting point for building a bridge between east and west and connecting different parts of the city. It will also make it easier for people to move northwards, and over time the impact of the site will only increase. Another special feature of the project was that it simulated things from both a functional and a safety point of view. Exit routes and their widths, route lengths and the like were modelled, along with the architecture to show how people use the space and move from one place to another. The models were used to integrate the existing urban fabric into a new structure that changes the focus of the entire city and creates entirely new access routes.
- The design took into account the arrival to the venue by different means of transport, not only public transport, but also by bicycle, for example, so the arena was also designed with bicycle parking," says Ala-Mantila.- Safe evacuation of crowds was an important aspect, and simulations were carried out with the help of data models.
Simulation image of traffic management after a local match.
- We also simulated how the mass of people would be discharged into the city and onto public transport," says Arvio. "So we simulated the pedestrian flows to public transport stops, and the models allowed us to accurately prove that it works. It's great that this project focused on solutions to replace private cars.
Watch the video of the Tampere Deck and Arena project:
Read more about the project: https://www.tekla.com/fi/bim-awards/tampereen-kansi-ja-areena
